ERIC Number: EJ1429522
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-May
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-2631
EISSN: EISSN-1470-1545
Available Date: N/A
Testing for Proficiency Effects and Crosslinguistic Influence in L2 Processing: Filler-Gap Dependencies in L2 English by Jordanian-Arabic and Mandarin Speakers
Studies in Second Language Acquisition, v46 n2 p564-580 2024
This study expands on previous research into filler-gap dependency processing in second language (L2) English, by means of a replication of Canales's (2012) self-paced reading study. Canales, among others, found that advanced L2-English speakers exhibited the same processing behavior that Stowe (1986) found for native English processing: On encountering a filler, they posited gaps in licensed positions and avoided positing gaps in grammatically unlicensed island positions. However, the previous L2 studies focused on advanced-level L2 proficiency and did not test specifically for first language (L1) influence. The present study compares two groups of intermediate-level L2-English speakers with contrasting non-wh-movement L1s, Jordanian Arabic and Mandarin, to investigate the effects of L1 influence and individual differences in proficiency. Our results provide evidence that at intermediate level, too, L2 filler-gap processing adheres to grammatical constraints. L1 did not affect this behavior, but proficiency effects emerged, with larger licensed filled-gap effects at higher proficiency.
Descriptors: Language Proficiency, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Language Processing, Native Language, Arabic, Language Variation, Grammar, Foreign Countries, Linguistic Theory, English (Second Language), Mandarin Chinese, Contrastive Linguistics, Individual Differences, Transfer of Training, Interference (Language)
Cambridge University Press. 100 Brook Hill Drive, West Nyack, NY 10994. Tel: 800-872-7423; Tel: 845-353-7500; Fax: 845-353-4141; e-mail: subscriptions_newyork@cambridge.org; Web site: https://www.cambridge.org/core/what-we-publish/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Jordan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A